
The Rim Trail
South Rim — no descent at all
- Round trip
- Any distance you like, up to about 13 miles one way
- Below the rim
- Nothing
- Water
- Grand Canyon Village and Hermits Rest only
- Getting there
- Shuttle stops along its length; the Hermit Road buses run March to November
It runs from the South Kaibab Trailhead west to Hermits Rest, roughly thirteen miles, most of it paved and much of it flat enough to be accessible. The Park Service gives the trailhead elevation as 6,820 feet and says the whole thing varies by about 200.
The reason it belongs on a list of canyon hikes is the shuttle. Buses stop at points all along it, so you walk one segment in whichever direction the light is good and ride back. Mather Point to Yavapai Point is 0.7 miles. Yavapai to the village is another couple.
West of Bright Angel Lodge the pavement runs out at Powell Point and it becomes a three-foot dirt path along the rim, which is where it stops feeling like a promenade.
Why it's here: The only one here that asks nothing of you, and the right answer for anyone arriving in July at noon.















